Local organizer Jadah Bearden, right, and other activists organized the vigil to mourn the death of Kevin Peterson Jr. Photo by Katya Schwenk/VTDigger Activists also called for the city of Burlington to take greater urgency in its work on police reforms. Though the city in June voted to reduce its officer count by attrition and…
David Roth: Failure is an option
Editor’s note: This commentary is by David Roth, a Burlington resident and entrepreneur. For the first time in our collective lifetimes, the United States faces a clear and present danger of widespread violence relating to a national election. Storefronts are boarded up in major cities across the country and local law enforcement agencies are preparing…
Nate Denny: We’re on the edge of the abyss
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Nate Denny, a former woodworker and teacher from Northfield. A neighbor plants signs in her front yard, hoping that they take root in the infertile soil and spread the message that human beings should not be prejudiced in any way. A passerby takes offense at the suggestion that he…
Microplastic beads: Good in home products; not so good in wildlife
Microplastics are added to some of the products we use. They end up in our lakes and streams and are a problem for wildlife, but we can change that. Top Featured Tags: – Vermont News Press Release Distribution Service
Vermont Varsity Insider Athletes of the Week: Ballots for Oct. 26-Nov. 1
People who love Vermont high school sports may vote through midnight Thursday for a girls and a boys Athlete of the Week. Top Featured Tags: – Vermont News Press Release Distribution Service
Vermont H.S. playoff scores for Tuesday, November 2: See how your favorite team fared
High school scores and results as reported to the Burlington Free Press department. Top Featured Tags: – Vermont News Press Release Distribution Service
Masked musicians: Is the pandemic stifling music education in Vermont?
Is music education a casualty of the pandemic? How schools keep the music playing, providing students the creative outlet they need during COVID-19. Top Featured Tags: – Vermont News Press Release Distribution Service
America East schedules: What you need to know for UVM men’s, women’s basketball
UVM basketball teams to open conference play against UMass Lowell, America East announced Monday. Top Featured Tags: – Vermont News Press Release Distribution Service
How is Vermont faring with coronavirus cases? Here’s how the state and counties are faring
New coronavirus cases leaped in Vermont in the week ending Saturday, rising 16.2% as 136 cases were reported. The… Top Featured Tags: – Vermont News Press Release Distribution Service
Sharon Panitch: Ditch the ‘true’-ism
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Sharon Panitch, of Burlington, who is a communications and development consultant and mother of three. Being stuck in traffic on Dorset Street in South Burlington (yet again) gave me the opportunity to check on the growing crop of political signs along the side of the road. There were the…
Rick Hubbard: Electoral College does not provide equal representation
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Rick Hubbard, who is a native Vermonter, retired attorney and former economic consultant, now living in South Burlington. When adopted in 1788, our Constitution gave Americans a republic with representative democracy. Today, the underlying question about our representative democracy is: How well is it working? More narrowly, is our…
Stanley Sloan: National security challenge for a Biden administration
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Stanley R. Sloan, of Richmond, who is a visiting scholar at Middlebury College whose most recent book is “Defense of the West: Transatlantic Security from Truman to Trump.” If Joe Biden emerges victorious from the upcoming elections, his new administration will enter office next January confronting the reality that…
CVU, U-32 sweep D-I and D-II crowns at cross-country championships
Redhawks repeat in D-I, Raiders rule D-II, Bellows Falls girls and Craftsbury boys top the lot in D-III races at Thetford. Top Featured Tags: – Vermont News Press Release Distribution Service
Mount Abraham outlasts Burr and Burton in shootout for D-II field hockey three-peat
Mount Abraham knocks off Burr and Burton in a pulsating shootout to claim a three-peat in the D-II field hockey state championship on Saturday. Top Featured Tags: – Vermont News Press Release Distribution Service
Vermont H.S. playoff scores for Saturday, October 31: See how your favorite team fared
High school scores and results as reported to the Burlington Free Press department. Top Featured Tags: – Vermont News Press Release Distribution Service
The Deeper Dig: Creative solutions to the housing crunch
Cheryl Herrick, one of the original residents of the Burlington Cohousing East Village, takes some food scraps to feed chickens at the complex in Burlington on Friday, October 2, 2020. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger The Deeper Dig is a weekly podcast from the VTDigger newsroom. Listen below, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify or anywhere you listen to…
How to spend $1.25 billion: Digging into Vermont’s Covid-19 spending spree
This is the first in a four-part series exploring how Vermont has spent its $1.25 billion share of the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund. In the coming days, VTDigger will dive deeper into where the money went and the impact on Vermonters and on the crucial small business, agriculture and housing sectors. Ski areas are receiving…
Scott on Slate Ridge response: ‘What would you suppose we should do?’
Gov. Phil Scott says he has known for some time about activities taking place at a militia training facility in West Pawlet that has neighbors terrified, but he challenged reporters to surface information that would allow authorities to take legal action against the operator. “We’re very much aware of the situation, we’re monitoring the situation,”…
DiGangi, Essex solve Colchester for D-I boys soccer quarterfinal win
Senior forward Stefan DiGangi tallies game-winner with 19:13 to play, lifting Essex over Colchester 1-0 in a D-I H.S. boys soccer semifinal on Friday. Top Featured Tags: – Vermont News Press Release Distribution Service
Vermont H.S. playoff scores for Friday, October 30: See how your favorite team fared
High school scores and results as reported to the Burlington Free Press department. Top Featured Tags: – Vermont News Press Release Distribution Service
What Vermonters need to know about voting in the Nov. 3 election
Many Vermonters have already cast their ballots early in the Nov. 3, 2020 general election. For people still planning to vote in person, what to know. Top Featured Tags: – Vermont News Press Release Distribution Service
Walt Amses: If only Al Gore …
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Walt Amses, a writer who lives in North Calais. As we approach Election Day it is increasingly likely hundreds of thousands of legitimately cast ballots will go uncounted — discarded by an unprecedented series of partisan decisions by a hand-picked, right-leaning Supreme Court, bolstered earlier this week by the…
